EUREKA — Bryce Misenhelter’s bump to a higher weight class continues to be a rousing success.
The Iola High senior wrestler, who moved earlier this season from 182 to 195 pounds, picked up another tournament championship over the weekend, winning his group at the Eureka Invitational.
Misenhelter improved to 25-1 on the season with his four-match tournament sweep.
He capped his day by defeating Burlington’s Joe Metzger, 3-0. Misenhelter earned one point by escaping Metzger’s hold to start the second period. He then got two back points in the waning seconds as Metzger became desperate to score points of his own.
Misenhelter was joined on the medal podium by several other Mustangs, including Cody Conner and Andrew Garber, who took third at 152 and 182 pounds, respectively.
Iola took seventh among the 21 teams at Eureka. “Not bad since we only took seven wrestlers,” Iola head coach Brad Carson said.
Shifting Misenhelter up a weight class was made more amenable by Garber’s smooth transition to 182.
“I think Andrew has been concerned about the speed and athleticism of the other wrestlers at that weight level, but he’s won eight of his last nine matches,” Carson noted. “With a kid like Andrew, I believe in karma. He never misses a practice, he’s a great teammate and he works hard every day. You can’t help but be happy for a kid like that.”
Garber rebounded from his only loss of the day — to eventual tournament champion Darick Jones of Clearwater — by pinning his final two opponents on the consolation side of the bracket. He went 4-1 on the day.
Conner also only lost once on the day, also to his weight class champion, Gage Armstrong of El Dorado. Aside from his loss, Conner pinned his other four opponents on the day, all within a minute.
Conner is almost too proficient, Carson said.
“He’s pinning these kids so quickly that he’s not able to utilize things we’ve been working on in practice,” Carson said. “He’s got to make his matches last longer sometimes. Right now, he’s got one or two moves that work against most of these kids, but if he comes up against some of the better wrestlers in the state, he may need to utilize something else. But today was a good day for Cody.”
Senior John Whitworth took fourth at 160 pounds, going 4-2 on the day. His two losses were to opponents with a combined 38-6 record on the season.
“John was in a tough bracket,” Carson said. “We had 21 teams at the tournament, and 20 of them had a wrestler in that weight class. That’s not to make excuses, though. John should be doing well.”
Mike Armstrong garnered fifth place at 138 pounds in exciting fashion. His late reversal against John Trumpower of Flinthills turned a 7-6 deficit into an 8-7 win.
Armstrong went 2-2 on the day.
